Author's note: Hey everybody here comes a new chapter... I hope you enjoy it... even though there's still drama in it but I swear it will get better from now on 'smile' 'hugs all readers'

Disclaimer: None of this characters belong to me except Alexi, Martha and Alexi's mom...

Chapter 25: Waking up

Randy didn't even really acknowledge the others leaving because he had his eyes already fixed on Alexandria again. The girl was still unconscious.

The Legend Killer still had Alexi's hand in his and squeezed it gently.

He was glad that she hadn't woken up when Shawn, Marissa and Chris had still been here.

That would've been a little problem but luckily she hadn't woken up.

Randy made himself as comfortable as possible in the not so comfortable chair because he knew that it would take a while until Alexi would finally wake up and medications wore off.

He so hoped that the surgery had been successful because he wanted nothing more than for Alexi to be able to see again. He couldn't wait for her to look him in the eye for the first time.

But what if she doesn't like what she sees and decides I'm not worth it. A little voice in his head said that sounded suspiciously like his father.

Randy shook his head vehemently to get rid of this voice.

"No… that won't happen. Lexi isn't like that." Randy said, trying to convince himself.

He closed his eyes for a moment because he felt the stress of the last days catching up with him and before he knew it he had fallen asleep.

Well at least he thought he'd fallen asleep because the next thing that reached his mind was Alexandria's weak voice.

"Randy?" She croaked. The Legend Killer immediately straightened up in his chair.

"I'm here Lexi." Randy said quickly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Where am I?" Alexi asked a little disorientated.

"Still in hospital love." Randy explained.

"Oh…" was all Alexandria said, still sounding weak. "Did something go wrong or why can't I still see?" Alexi asked slightly panicked.

Randy squeezed her hand gently. "Shh love, calm down. Dr. Cormela told us that it could take two or three days before your eyes have adjusted to the new situation." Randy explained.

"Oh…" Alexi said again.

"I better go and get Dr. Cormela. She told me to get her so that she can check on you when you've woken up. And I think she can better explain to you what's happening with your eyes." The young Orton said and started to get up but Alexi wouldn't let go of his hand.

"Please Randy, don't leave me alone." She begged. Randy bent down and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"I'll be back soon. I'll just get Dr. Cormela and then I'll be back before you know it." He said.

And I'll tell your family that you're awake. He added in his thoughts but thought better than to tell Alexandria that.

"Okay…" Alexandria reluctantly agreed because she knew it was for her best. "But please hurry…"
"I will… you don't have to worry about that." Randy gave her another kiss on the cheek and then he left the room, leaving Alexi alone with her thoughts.

He sighed and closed the door behind him and then he hurried down the hall asking several nurses where Dr. Cormela was.
It took him about five minutes to find her talking to another doctor.

When she noticed him, Martha smiled.

"Ah Mr. Orton… is everything okay?" the young doctor questioned.

"Yeah… Alexi has woken up and I wanted to get you." Randy explained and wondered why she was suddenly calling him Mr. Orton again. He hated to be called Mr. Orton because it always made him think about his father.

He quickly brushed that thought away. There was no need and no time to go there. He tried to concentrate on the doctor again.

"Already? I was expecting her to be asleep for another half hour." Martha questioned a little surprised.

"She woke up about five minutes ago." Randy explained quickly, wanting to get back to Alexi.

"Okay… if that's the case I'll go and check on her right now. Would you tell her mother and the others? I think they will want to know."

"Of course Dr. Cormela. And would you please tell Alexandria that I'll be back soon."
Martha nodded and was about to walk down the hall when Randy suddenly remembered something.

"Oh and Dr. Cormela please don't tell her that I'm going to tell her family because she doesn't want to see them right now." The Legend Killer quickly explained, not wanting to go into any detail.

Martha looked at Randy surprised but when she saw the serious look on the young Orton's face she nodded.

"Okay…" was all she said having no idea what else to say.

"Thanks." Randy said relieved. "Oh and have you seen Alexandria's parents?"
Dr. Cormela nodded again. "Yeah… they're in my office just down the hall. They needed some quiet because of the fans that have recognised them." She explained.

"Oh I see…" The young Orton nodded already on his way down the hall. Martha looked after him for a second before she went to Alexandria's room and knocked softly.

Randy walked down the hall and had no problems finding Martha's office. For a second he debated with himself if he should knock or not but then his impatience got the better of him and he just opened the door slowly and quietly.

None of the others noticed him. Only Chris noticed him because he was leaning against the wall beside the door. Randy was about to say something but Chris motioned for him to be quiet and Randy listened to what Marissa told Shawn about Alexi's accident. His eyes widened with every word she spoke.

Chris looked at Randy and couldn't help to lay a hand on the younger man's shoulder to give him at least some comfort. He knew it was hard for Randy to hear what Marissa had to say.

Marissa meanwhile didn't even really see Randy entering the room.

She had her attention turned to Shawn, who looked at her expectantly and at the same time comfortingly, waiting for her to continue her story.

Marissa finally started her story. "It was about a year ago. Chris and Alexi were on her way to Alexi's martial arts lesson. Chris always went with her when he was in town and had the time to go with her. Well anyway he two went together and they were just about to cross a street when two guys attacked them and dragged them into a dark alley. They had recognised Chris and figured that he'd have a lot of money with him. Unfortunately he hadn't and the guys didn't like that very much. They thought Chris was lying and let their frustration out on Alexi. Since they had knifes and one of them even had a gun there was nothing Chris could've done."

When she said that she glanced over at Chris and Shawn knew Chris well enough to know that Y2J was blaming himself.

"Well… then one of the guys decided that there were better ways to entertain themselves than to beat Alexi. He then… he…." Marissa stopped and buried her head in her hands, the tears welling up in her eyes. Shawn quickly took her into an embrace. "Shh… it's okay. Alexi is save now."
Shawn gently forced Marissa to look at him.

"What happened then?" He questioned softly.

Marissa looked at Shawn with tear-stained eyes and was about to say something. Before she could, however, Chris said in a voice the others had never heard him use before: "They tried to rape her?" The room fell silent in horror and Shawn's eyes widened. He couldn't bear the thought that his baby-girl had been molested. Randy felt anger burn inside him he'd never felt before but neither him nor Shawn dared to speak up when they saw the look on Jericho's face.

Y2J continued: "That's when I tried to do something, getting me stabbed in the shoulder and Alexi twice in the stomach. I, however, scared them enough so that they threw Alexi against a wall, causing her blindness and then they ran off. I was able to call an ambulance since my shoulder wasn't so bad off… Alexi on the other hand was pretty bad off. Luckily they got her to the hospital on time and she recovered wholly… well except her eyes…" Chris had finished his story and his face showed that he felt really guilty for everything that had happened but John quickly realised that there was nothing he needed to feel sorry for. He had done what he could in such a situation.

That explains his shoulder injury he never talked about… Batista realised. And it also explains why he's so protective of Alexi.

"But… you always said it was an accident that caused Alexi to lose her eyesight…" John said.

"Well I hoped you'd ask fewer questions if I said it was an accident…" Jericho just replied, his voice distant and running a hand through his hair.

Randy still stood in the doorframe, his eyes darting between Chris, Marissa, Shawn, John and Batista.

Shawn sat in shock and held Marissa in his arms to offer her silent comfort and to be comforted by her. Batista and John just looked at each other, having no idea what to do or to say. They had expected a lot but not that. They now understood why Chris had asked them to not ask Alexi about the accident.

"Please tell me that you got the guys who did that to her…" Randy said, trying to keep his calm but the tone of his voice got everyone's attention and John knew exactly what was running through his best friend's mind.

Marissa had calmed down a little and had been able to ban the images of her daughter lying in that hospital bed from her mind. So she looked at Randy and nodded.

"Yeah… they were able to get them and they put them away for years…" She said.

The young Orton immediately sensed that there was still more to the story but he also sensed that this wasn't the right time to ask about that.

He just was relieved that the guys who were responsible for Alexi's trauma were put away safely.

So his anger slowly subsided and he relaxed a little.

Randy then realised why he had come to see Alexi's parents and the others.

He looked at all of them and smiled a little to ease the tension in the room.

"By the way Alexi has woken up."
"Already?" Marissa asked. She was glad to hear that.

"Yeah, I already send Martha to check on her. That gave me the time to come and tell you. She feels okay but I can't say for sure if she really is. But I guess Dr. Cormela will tell me when she's finished."
"Does Alexi know you're here?" Chris questioned. Randy shook his head. "Nope. I told Dr. Cormela not to tell her that I went to see you. Alexi thinks I have to wait outside until Martha has finished her check-up."
Marissa nodded. "Good. Thanks for telling us Randy but you better go back now because Alexi will need you to be there for her." She stood up and walked over to the young Orton, who smiled at her. And before Randy knew what was happening Marissa hugged him tightly and whispered in his ear: "Thanks for everything Randy… thanks for being there when my baby-girl needed someone like you. I'm glad that you came into our life."
Randy had no idea what to say to that. He just hugged her back and smiled. He felt proud after what Marissa had just said to him especially after everything that had happened earlier with Shawn.

Chris, who was standing beside them and was the only one who had heard what Marissa had said, smiled too, knowing that Marissa's words had helped to build up Randy's confidence at least a little.

The young Orton let go of the older woman and smiled at all present in the room.

"Well I better go back so that Alexi won't get suspicious."
John and the others nodded.

"Let us know when there's something new." Chris pleaded.
"Of course I will." He said goodbye and left the room walking back to Alexandria's room.

He was about to open the door when he heard Alexi and Martha talking inside. So he decided to wait until Dr. Cormela was finished.

He sat down in one of the plastic chairs and leaned back, closing his eyes for a moment, thinking about everything that he had just heard.

Randy was about to doze off when he heard the door open.

He quickly got to his feet, looking at the young doctor, trying to hide the confusion he still felt after hearing about Alexi's accident and asked before Martha could say something: "And, how is she?"

Alexandria heard the door close behind Randy and suddenly she felt really alone. The world was still dark around her and in addition to that her eyes really itched. She sighed deeply and pressed her head into the pillow and closed her eyes for a moment. It wasn't easy to open and close the eyelids under the bandage over her eyes but it didn't really make a difference.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Yeah? Come in." She called and she heard the door opening.

"Hey Alexi." Dr. Cormela called.

"Hey Martha." Alexandria replied, a small smile on her face.

"So how do you feel?" Martha questioned.

"Okay I guess… I'm still tired and my eyes itch." Alexi explained and then she asked: "Where's Randy?"
"Oh he's still outside. I asked him to wait out the door until I've finished checking on you." Martha quickly said, honouring Randy's wish that she shouldn't tell Alexi that Randy was talking to her parents.

"I see… so how is the prognosis?" Alexandria wanted to know.

"You said your eyes itch?" Martha questioned while checking on Alexi's vital signs.

When the girl nodded, Dr. Cormela continued: "That's a good sign. It indicates that your nerves are beginning to heal."
Alexi smiled a little. She was relieved because she'd feared that the operation had failed.

"But why can't I still see?" She then asked.

"That's also perfectly normal. Your eyes need to adjust to the new situation. In about 24 hours you should be able to differ between darkness and light and in about three or four days your eyes should be back to normal."
Alexandria's smile got even brighter.

"Thank you Martha." She said and ignored the fact that Martha had said 'should' and not 'will'. Alexi was determined to think positive because there were a lot of things she had to look forward to. Randy, Chris and her mother would be so happy when she'd finally be able to see again.

But suddenly the smile fell from her face when she thought about Chris and Marissa and what had happened a few hours earlier. She was still hurt that Marissa had just told Shawn and seemed to have forgiven him.

Alexandria just couldn't forgive Shawn that easily and she couldn't forget that Chris and Marissa had sided with Shawn.

"Alexi? Everything okay?" Martha's voice was interrupting her thoughts.

"Yeah… I was just thinking about a few things that I need to take care of." Alexandria explained.

"Oh okay… but take it easy in the next few days okay?"
"Sure Doc… I promise." Alexi said, a small smile on her face again.

"Well now that I've made sure that you're okay I better go and send Randy back in here before he gets too worried."

Alexi smiled. "Okay…"
"So well I'll be back in the evening to check on you again. If you need anything until then, just call for me okay?"
"Sure Doc… and thank you for everything."
"No need to thank me Alexi… that's my job. So see you later."
"Yeah bye." Alexi acknowledged.

Martha left the room, hoping that Randy was already out there, waiting for Martha to finish her check-up.

When she closed the door behind her and turned around she saw Randy sitting in one of the chairs in front of Alexi's room. He looked like something was bothering him but she thought it better not to ask. She didn't even have the time to ask, because Randy got to his feet.

"And, how is she?" he questioned before Dr. Cormela had the chance to say something.
"I guess she's okay. Still tired but that's perfectly normal after such a serious operation. And the way she describes how her eyes feel I think everything's going according to plan and her eyes already start to heal."
Randy nodded relieved. "Well then I better go back in there."
Martha nodded.

"Yeah and like I told Alexandria just call if you need anything."

Randy smiled a little. "I will." He acknowledged and with this he went into Alexi's room while Martha went back to work, thinking that the time until she would have coffee with Chris Jericho suddenly seemed way too long.

Alexi was just about to doze off, still tired from the operation when Randy entered the room.

She had memorized Randy's step so there was no doubt that it was him. It was a habit that had always helped her to find her way around and to recognise people.

"Hey Randy." She smiled, happy that Martha had given her good news and happy that Randy was back and still there with her.

If the young Orton was surprised that Alexi had recognised him without him saying something he didn't show it.

"Hey Lexi… so everything's okay?" He questioned, sitting down in the chair, taking Alexi's hand in his again. It felt just so natural to do that.

"Yeah. Martha told me that the way I described how my eyes feel everything's going according to plan."
"That's great." Randy said and smiled, giving Alexi a quick kiss on the cheek.

The young girl nodded. "Yeah… I can't wait to see and finally look you in the eye when I tell you that I love you."

Randy looked at Alexandria in surprise when Alexi said that, not prepared to hear these words from Alexi even though he knew that he loved Alexi too.

But again there was this little voice in his head, telling him that there was the chance that Alexandria wouldn't like what she saw.

No… Alexandria isn't like that… He again tried to tell himself.

"Randy? Are you okay?" Alexandria questioned. She had sensed that something was bothering the young Orton because of the way he held her hand.

"Yeah… I was just spacing out for a moment." He hastened to say, not wanting to worry the younger girl since she already had enough to worry about and he didn't have to add his own problems to hers. In addition to that he thought that he was sure he had to deal with his problems on his own.

"So I noticed." Alexi said and asked: "Are you really sure that you're okay?"
Randy smiled and kissed her softly. "I'm really okay. You don't need to worry."
"Okay." Alexandria said, content for now.

The young Orton squeezed her hand and said softly, reacting to Alexi's earlier confession: "I love you too…"

The smile on Alexandria's face made Randy feel happy.

The two shared another passionate yet tender kiss. When they broke the kiss a comfortable silence entered the room and both were lost in their own thoughts.

Suddenly Alexi straightened up in the bed. "I need to call Sid."

Randy gasped. He had hoped that Alexandria had forgotten about that but obviously she hadn't.

"Are you sure?" He wanted to know.

Alexi nodded. "Yeah… I finally want the truth about what happened twenty years ago and neither my mother nor Shawn will tell me the truth… but Sid will…"
Randy wasn't so sure about that but he knew that there was no way he could talk Alexi out of it so he just nodded.

"Okay…" He acknowledged.

Alexandria reached for the phone and found it after a few tries.

At first nobody answered but then Sid's voice came through the phone. Randy just listened quietly, wondering what would happen in the next hours and if things would finally get better.

to be continued...